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Man accused of using torch indicted in central Lubbock arson

A Lubbock County grand jury indicted a 27-year-old man Tuesday after he was accused of using a propane torch in September to set fire to a mother-in-law suite at a home in central Lubbock.

Riley Edwards is charged with a second-degree felony count of arson, which carries a punishment of two t0 20 years in prison.

Lubbock fire investigators believe Edwards broke into the home Sept. 19 and intentionally set fire to a mother-in-law suite in the 1300 block of 33rd Street, according to an arrest warrant.

Lubbock firefighters responded about 2:20 a.m. to a fire at the residence. Firefighters arrived to find a blaze on the rear, exterior part of a mother-in-law suite behind the main house. Crews quickly extinguished the fire with minimal damage to the property, which was vacant and being renovated.

Fire investigators determined the blaze was intentionally set. Video captured by a security camera from a nearby business showed a man carrying a propane torch, which he ignited, extinguished and placed in his front pocket before, using a trash container to climb over a chain link fence to enter the residence’s backyard.

The video showed the man make several unsuccessful attempts to enter the suite through windows then go out of view. Investigators believe the man reached into the home through a southeast window and used the torch to set fire to materials in the suite, including electrical wiring, a junction box, trash and construction debris.

On video, reflections of the fire could be seen on the fence before it came into view and grew higher than the roof of the suite, the warrant states.

A separate video from the same business’ security camera later that night showed the man set fire to the trash container he used to climb over the fence.

An employee of another nearby business identified the suspected arsonist to investigators as Edwards, saying the man admitted to burglarizing the vehicles of two of his customers while they were inside. He said the man carried the blow torch into the business the day before the fire and the employee joked about using the torch to make drugs, but Edwards reportedly replied he had “other plans” for the torch, the warrant states.

Edwards was booked Sept. 24 into the Lubbock County Detention Center where he remains. His bond is set at $100,000.